


stand there like a ghost (shaking from the rain)

by loudwheezes (arrodete)



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Baking, Boys In Love, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Eve, Christmas Party, Christmas Shopping, Cooking, First Kiss, M/M, Roommates, Snow, shyansecretsanta2k18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 20:53:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17169200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrodete/pseuds/loudwheezes
Summary: “Oh my God, you told them that I used your credit card?”“Hush, little boy, let Santa finish the story.”-Or; it's snowing in Southern California, Shane Madej is in love, and Ryan Bergara's parents don't mind.





	stand there like a ghost (shaking from the rain)

**Author's Note:**

> this work is for [aaria](https://genuine-wheeze.tumblr.com/): hey, sorry this is late! i had to host a christmas party for my family, and i couldn't find time to post this, but i hope you like this small drabble!
> 
> unbeta-ed for now! sorry :((

“Listen, man, I’m kinda busy right now— Yeah, yeah. _Yes,_ Steven, I heard you the first time. Yeah, I gotta go, I’m hanging up.” Shane slipped his phone back into his pocket, keeping an eye on the shelves. He carefully looked over each label, searching for what he needed, and— Bingo.

 

He grabbed party hats and threw them into the cart, before running to the checkout counter. He groaned, seeing the long line of late-minute Christmas shoppers. He had approximately five hours before Ryan’s parents would at their apartment to pick them up. They had originally planned to drive to the Bergara home themselves, just so that they wouldn’t have to decorate the apartment. However, it seemed that nothing was going right, as his roommate’s parents insisted on coming over to check out their apartment before driving them to the house. After hanging up on Ryan’s mom, the boys had come up with an elaborate plan to decorate the home in what would be the fastest apartment makeover in history.

 

 _“What do you mean, we have to decorate the apartment? They won’t mind!”_ Shane had yelled after Ryan told him the plan.

 

 _“Are you kidding me? They’d freak out! This place is a mess!”_ Ryan had replied, already grabbing the vacuum from their storage closet.

 

_“Let’s just clean up! We don’t have to decorate!”_

 

_“No, Shane, we do! They haven’t been to the apartment yet, we need to show them that we’ve got our shit together!”_

 

_“Come on, Ryan! What stores would be open now! It’s the day before Christmas— heck, it’s going to be Christmas Eve in a few hours!”_

 

 _“Which is why you have to get going, big guy,”_ Ryan had said, already pushing Shane out of the door. _“I’ll clean up, buy the most festive shit you can find. Use my card.”_

 

So that’s where Shane found himself, lining up behind stressed shoppers, on the only open checkout counter, in the only supermarket open at this date. He never thought he’d find himself being a stressed, late-minute Christmas shopper himself, but ever since he started living with Ryan last May, he found himself in a lot of situations he’d never think to be in.

 

At first, moving in a new apartment with his crush didn’t seem like such a bad idea. He and Ryan had been talking about moving in with each other for about a year before they did; and with their schedules overlapping so much, ever since Unsolved began, it only seemed natural. It was convenient — only one ride from the airport after investigations, carpooling to and from work, and it was easier to handle and store their equipment. Living with Ryan would benefit both of them, and Shane would get to spend more time with his favorite person in the world.

 

Sometimes, though, Shane forgot that his favorite person in the world was no other than erratic, impulsive, hotheaded Ryan Bergara. It was times like this that he remembered, as he stood behind a man trying to refund a spoiled melon.

 

(Of course, Shane would have it no other way. After all, Shane Madej was stupidly, irrevocably, head-over-heels in love with erratic, impulsive, hotheaded Ryan Bergara.)

 

*

 

“Honey, I’m home!” he yelled out, tossing the keys in the bowl on the small desk in the entrance hallway. He took off his coat and headed to the kitchen, where his tiny friend was preparing a cake to impress his parents.

 

“Oh shit, Shane— what took you so long?” Ryan looked at him, before turning back to incorporating all the ingredients together.

 

“Mrs. Miller,” he replied, as he unpacked the bags of goodies. Mrs. Miller was their next-door neighbor, an old widow who lived with her grandson. “She gave me a candle, though. Let’s light it up.”

 

“Yeah, that should be good, mom would love that. Is it a Christmas-themed one?” Ryan asked, not once tearing his eyes from the cake.

 

“Chestnut & Clove, is that any good?” Shane opened the cupboards over Ryan, who simply moved aside. He grabbed the matches and lit the candle. The scent filled the room, and he headed over to the living room to put it on the coffee table.

 

“Yeah, that’s fine. Shit, I’m so nervous.” Ryan said, as he poured the batter into the cake pan and into the oven. He went out to the living room, where Shane was hanging up some Christmas lights.

 

“Don’t worry about it, little guy. Is Jake gonna be coming too?” he asked.

 

“Nah, but we’ll be seeing him when we get to the house.”

 

“How long before the cake bakes?”

 

“Maybe forty-five minutes.”

 

“Then what are you waiting for, little guy? Help me hang these up.”

 

Ryan rolled his eyes, before taking off his apron. “You and I know that I wouldn’t be able to reach the ceiling.”

 

The two boys wheezed, before hanging up the lights and the fake snowflakes.

 

*

 

“Shit, Shane, I really don’t know what to do.”

 

The cake was overbaked, and it was all burnt and disgusting. They were too busy cleaning up and hanging up the Christmas decorations to hear the oven timer going off. The cake was gross, the apartment still looked like shit, and they had about an hour and a half before Ryan’s parents were due to come.

 

“I should’ve been paying attention—”

 

“Hey, it’s fine! It’s fine, little guy, let’s just— I don’t know, let’s just focus on cleaning up the apartment.”

 

“Yeah, but now we have to clean up the kitchen. The oven’s all fucked up, and we really made a mess.”

 

They had tried salvaging the cake by decorating it, but that only resulted in icing getting over the kitchen counters and the floor. Ryan was close to having a full-on breakdown, and Shane really didn’t know what to do.

 

Then, like a lightbulb, he had an idea.

 

“Let’s make apple taters.”

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, come on, Ry. We have everything we need, and it won’t take long!” he said, opening the refrigerator and grabbing the carton of eggs.

 

“Shane, we have to clean up—”

 

“No buts,” he said, giving Ryan a look. “We’re showing your parents that the Madej-Bergara household is better than theirs.”

 

“I— what? You dumbass,” Ryan wheezed, pulling out his phone, already looking for Rie’s recipe.

 

“Let’s get cooking, Ryan!”

 

*

 

“What in God’s name are you—”

 

“Shut up, Shane!”

 

“I thought you knew how to crack eggs!”

 

“I do know how to crack eggs!”

 

“Then why did it end up on the floor?!”

 

“I don’t know! It just ended up there—”

 

“Oh my God, Ryan Bergara, you will be the end of me.”

 

*

 

“Oh, fuck me!” 

 

“Ryan! You madman!”

 

“The oil! This is your fault, you big buffoon!”

 

“What?”

 

“Stop putting it so close! Why are you so bad at squeezing? Not so close!”

 

“Don’t tell me what to do! I’ll let you know, mister, I’m a wonderful squeezer.”

 

*

 

The boys collapsed on the couch, exhausted from all the work they put. There were fresh apple taters on the coffee table, next to their Bath & Body Works candle. They had just finished scrubbing the kitchen clean, and setting up their tiny Christmas tree, when the doorbell rang.

 

Ryan opened the door, with Shane behind him, both boys ready for their overnight stay to Ryan’s parents’ house. 

 

Linda, Ryan’s mother rushed into the apartment, giving both boys a big embrace.

 

“Ryan!” she said, giving a him a big kiss on the cheek. “You never visit us! Good thIng we decided to come pick you up ourselves! Always doing work, work, work—”

 

“Yeah, sorry mom,” Ryan nervously chuckled. 

 

“He’s not doing so bad, Linda,” Steve, Ryan’s father remarked, walking around the living room. He looked at the Christmas decorations they had set up, at the Christmas lights and the Christmas tree, smiling approvingly.

 

“You’re coming over for Christmas, right? Aren’t you going home?” he asked Shane.

 

“We already visited his parents last week,” Ryan replied for him. “I had to drag his ass— he didn’t want to get off the couch.”

 

“Language, Ryan,” Linda interjected.

 

“Yeah, we went to visit my parents for a while. Ryan wanted me to come home with him for Christmas,” Shane said. “My mom was pretty miffed that I wouldn’t be home with them, but in the end, she let me off the hook.”

 

“We’re glad to have you with us again, this year. Ryan’s cousins will be thrilled to have you over,” Steve said. Shane tried to ignore the implications of that. He had come over to the Bergara household last year, for Christmas, and he was coming over again. He looked at Ryan, who wasn’t meeting his eyes. _Was he turning red?_

 

“Let’s just go, guys!” Ryan turned to his parents. “We’ll get stuck in traffic.”

 

“Wait— the apple taters?” 

 

“Oh!” Linda exclaimed. “Did you boys actually cook? I thought you two were surviving off of take-out.”

 

“We do have a kitchen for something,” Shane smiled. She laughed, and Ryan grabbed the bowl of apple taters and passed it over. She sat next to him on the couch, gushing over the fact that Ryan learned how to cook.

 

“She loves them,” Steve whispered to Shane. “Ever since the video came out, she’s been cooking ‘em every weekend. Between you and me, I’m getting pretty tired of eating them.”

 

Shane felt a familiar tug in his heart, something that happens a lot around Ryan. Here he was, standing with Ryan’s father in their living room, watching Ryan and his mom catch up over apple taters on the couch they picked up from a garage sale, months ago.

 

It should feel stupid, all of this, but it wasn’t. It just felt like home.

 

*

 

“I still can’t believe you boys have Christmas tree,” Linda laughed from the passenger seat. They had been on the road for about an hour now, and according to Steve, they were almost there.

 

“Yeah, well Ryan didn’t really want one,” Shane laughed, glancing at the sleeping man, leaning on his shoulder. “He told me we’d go broke, but once I had a day off, and he didn’t, I went out and bought it.”

 

Steve laughed, keeping his eyes on the road. “What did he say? He must have been surprised to come home to that.”

 

“Oh, he was. He was angry! He was even angrier when he found out I used his card,” he said. Then, he realized the words that just came out of his mouth, and— _maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to tell Ryan’s parents that he used Ryan’s credit card._

 

Instead of getting mad at him, Linda just laughed. “He lets you use his card?”

 

“Yeah, sometimes,” Shane smiled. “He quickly warmed up to the tree, though. He used my credit card to buy all the decorations on the tree, and well— you saw it. He went ham!”

 

They laughed. “He does love decorating,” Linda said, smiling fondly. “When he told me that you two were buying an apartment together, I was surprised! I know he brought you home last Christmas, but I thought you two were moving a bit too fast. Now that I look at it, though, he’s doing just fine with you around.”

 

Shane blinked. “I— wait, no. I mean, we’re not together. We’re not— it’s not— Ryan and I aren’t dating.”

 

Linda paused, before turning around to look at him. “No?”

 

“Yeah, uh, we’re not together,” he said, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

 

“Oh… well then. I, uh, I’m sorry, Shane. I didn’t know. I just assumed since he went home with you for Christmas, and this is your second year with us. I’m sorry.”

 

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” he said, forcing himself to smile at her. Linda turned forward, obviously embarrassed. They sat in silence for a moment, before Steve spoke up.

 

Steve eyed them through the rearview mirror: Ryan was passed out, with his head on Shane’s shoulder, and Shane was looking at him. “You know,” he said. “Even if you two aren’t dating, I won’t be surprised if you two got together soon. It’s just a matter of time, son.”

 

Shane blinked, slowly turning red. He met Steve’s eyes in the mirror— _was Ryan’s father saying what he thought he was saying?_

 

Linda slapped her husband’s arm. “Oh, we’re almost there, and— Hey! Eyes on the road, Steve!”

 

The three of them laughed. Ryan’s dad’s words echoed in his head. Son.

 

He looked at Ryan, who had his ever-present frown on. He laughed, _Sourpuss Bergara._

 

He shook his shoulder, jolting Ryan awake. Ryan yelled, before looking around, with big, paranoid eyes. “Huh? What? What’s going on?”

 

“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty! No ghosts here, relax,” he said, laughing at his best friend’s expression. Up front, Ryan’s parents joined in. Ryan groaned.

 

“Ghost hunting does something to a man, okay? Hey!” 

 

They didn’t stop laughing, until Steve pulled up in the driveway. 

 

*

 

“Oh, Shane’s here again?” Jake looked up from his laptop.

 

“Mind giving me a hand, champ?” Shane asked, standing by the doorway of the living room, and ignoring the squeals and yells of children.

 

More specifically, children attached to his legs.

 

“Tree! Tree, tree, tree!” Andy yelled, hugging his right thigh. The two children on his left leg joined in the chanting.

 

Jake, demon that he is, laughed and joined the chanting. Beside Jake, two of Ryan’s cousins were watching a movie on the laptop.

 

“Alright Andy, get off of him,” Jake said, wheezing with laughter. Shane rolled his eyes, he was just like his brother. He stood up and walked next to Shane.“Come on, Gail! Off, off— you too, Chester. Alright, go back to the kitchen and help Tia Rosita in cooking. Go on!”

 

The children ran off, not before the one called Andy stuck his tongue out at Jake.

 

“Thanks,” he said, sarcastically smiling at Jake. He glanced at the couch. “What’re you guys watching?”

 

“Interstellar,” Alex replied. He had met all of Ryan’s cousins last Christmas, and he had gotten along with them. “Nice to see you back. Where’s Ryan?”

 

“In his old bedroom,” Shane grinned. “Mind if I join you guys?

 

*

 

He popped his head in the kitchen. 

 

“There you are.” He smiled, spotting Ryan. “Care for a walk?”

 

“Looking like this?” Ryan ran his hand through his hair, causing flour to fly everywhere.

 

“I don’t mind. Besides, your cousins are killing me out there,” he said, groaning. It was true, he hadn’t scored a win once at Mario Kart. Ryan laughed, before glancing at his aunts, who were preparing a meal.

 

“It’s fine, _mio_ , we’ll do fine without you. Go with him!” Auntie Rocel all but pushes him out of the kitchen. 

 

They navigated their way through hordes and masses of people, before reaching the front door. They grabbed their coats off of the hooks and put them on, along with their boots. Ryan yelled, “Mom! Shane and I are going for a walk!”, before taking Shane’s arm and pulling him out of the house.

 

They walked together in silence, hands in their pockets. There was snow on the pavement, unusual for Southern California, and Ryan was shivering. Shane looked at him and smirked.

 

“You poor Californi—”

 

“Shut up, Shane,” Ryan said, with none of the bite. “You and your Midwestern winters.”

 

Shane spares a glance at Ryan, flushed from the cold. _He’s gorgeous_ , his mind helpfully supplied. He thinks back to what Ryan’s dad told him earlier that evening, in the car, and he found himself grinning stupidly.

 

“What’s up?” Ryan asked him, and Shane glanced at him. His heart jumped; Ryan was looking at him wait such a fond expression, and—

 

“It’s nothing,” he said. “You’re shivering.”

 

“Yeah, I know. It’s pretty fucking cold here, mister—”

 

“Now, now, Ryan! You kiss your mother with that mouth,” he taunted. Ryan narrowed his eyes.

 

“Why did you call me out here, big guy?”

 

“I don’t know, can’t I have a moment with you?” he said, looking up at the dark sky. Ryan fell silent.

 

There was something about snow in California, something that made the atmosphere change. There was something about how a place with an endless summer could turn freezing cold, something about it that made Shane’s heart warmer.

 

Or maybe it was just the man by his side.

 

He’s traveled a lot around the country. He’s experienced freezing Midwestern winters and scorching Texas summers, all with Ryan by his side. From prison to haunted house, from town to town — he did it all with Ryan at his side.

 

“You wanted to spend time with me, big guy?” Ryan spoke up. He turned to his friend. Ryan was looking at him, he wasn’t teasing. They both had stopped walking, and were standing on the sidewalk of Ryan’s parents’ neighborhood. They had stopped underneath a lamppost, and Shane was in awe at how the light made Ryan look otherworldly. 

 

“Yeah, I kinda did,” he said.

 

“We live together,” said Ryan, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile.

 

“I know,” he said. “You know, I can’t believe we pulled that off. Late minute Christmas shopping, and it’s Christmas Eve in about an hour, and your parents—”

 

Ryan pulled Shane down by the collar of his coat, and kissed him.

 

Just like that, Shane’s mind went blank. All he thought was how _Ryan Bergara_ was kissing him, in the neighborhood of Ryan’s childhood home. How he was being kissed by his coworker, his roommate, his best friend, and his favorite person in the world — and how he’s been wanting to kiss Ryan for the past three years.

 

After a while, his senses came back to life. He grabbed Ryan’s waist and pulled him close, not registering how Ryan’s beanie fell off into the snow beside them. He felt Ryan tiptoe and deepen the kiss, and Ryan’s fingers on his hair, and— _Fuck, he’s going crazy_. He’s kissing Ryan and kissing Ryan and kissing Ryan, and he lets Ryan kiss him. He kisses Ryan Bergara until their mouths are sore and their hands are tired. He kisses Ryan until he feels him shivering in his arms, and he pulls away.

 

“You’re cold,” he remarked, ignoring how out of breath he was. Ryan is smiling up at him, and he looks so gorgeous, and Shane’s insanely happy.

 

“Your lips were cold,” Ryan replied. “We should head back. What were you saying about my parents?”

 

He grabbed Ryan’s hand. “I think your parents loved the apartment. They love the Christmas tree, even if I told them you were against it, and—”

 

“Wait, you told them I didn’t want a tree?” Ryan glared at him. “They already think I’m the fucking Grinch!”

 

“That’s because you are, babe,” Shane said, smiling at him. “And I doubt they think that — I told them you decorated the tree! Now I’m drowning in debt because of all the shit you bought, and—”

 

“Oh my God, you told them that I used your credit card?”

 

“Hush, little boy, let Santa finish the story.”

 

*

 

(They spend the entirety of Christmas together. Ryan’s family has never been more convinced that they’re dating. Steve and Linda Bergara are the first people who hear of the news, once they become official.

Of course, Shane’s parents are not surprised when they call them to share the news. Instead, they are miffed that Steve and Linda heard about it first. Mark and Sherry Madej ask them to spend Christmas with them next year, and the boys promise that they will.)

**Author's Note:**

> this is for the prompts: first kiss, baking, and christmas decorations! i couldn't choose, so i just did all three. i don't know if this is what you expected, but i hope you like it!
> 
> please comment if you have any feedback: i'd like to grow more as a writer :)  
> hmu on [tumblr](https://loud-wheezes.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
